A woman has spoken of her devastation to learn, only a week before taking the stand against her alleged abuser, that the trial would be discontinued due to the defendant's terminal cancer diagnosis.
The complainant alleged she was sexually abused between the ages of 14 and 16 by a man who was in his 50s at the time.
She said it took years to recognise what had happened and to report the allegations to police. In total, she has waited four-and-a-half years.
She said hearings had been pushed back in 2024 and then 2025 before a date was set for August 2026.
She said: "It took two and a half years to get from reporting the abuse to the charges being laid but, once the police told me about the charges, I felt like the system was finally starting to work.
"Knowing how high the bar for charging someone is, especially for historic cases, made me feel validated," she added.
The complainant said she spent months preparing herself to give evidence, including taking time away from work for mental preparation and visiting a courtroom to better understand the process.
She said she was left "devastated" when she learned the case would not proceed to trial.
"I'll never get to be heard, especially after building myself up so much to give my evidence," she said.
The complainant also expressed her humiliation at having spent so much time preparing for a trial that would never take place, including multiple hours of police interviews, creating a detailed timeline of the alleged assaults, and giving police her own personal diary.
"I opened up so much personal information about myself to try to get justice, and now all of that is totally worthless," she said.
The Crown Prosecution Service told the EADT a decision had been made to offer no evidence in this case due to the ill health of the defendant who had months to live.
Cath Pickles, chief executive of charity Restitute, which supports the families of victims of crime, said: "It is appalling that this survivor has been denied justice through the legal system.
"Any delay risks harm to victims and their families who often care for the victim during these delays. It is no wonder that victims struggle to engage with the criminal justice system and those that do are more harmed than helped by the process."
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Victims deserve confidence that serious allegations can be properly tested by the courts and justice delivered. That’s why we’re considering reforms to the unfitness to plead framework, including more effective court powers where allegations are proved, as well as changes to court procedures to better support victims and their families.
“The Lord Chancellor has been clear that reducing the court backlog is essential to delivering swifter justice for victims.”
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